Something Blue
by Lauratoria
Summary: Severus says his last goodbye to Lily before her Wedding Day.
1. Chapter 1

Severus knew he'd regret this. Walking through the shortcut that would leave him standing outside _that _house in Godric's Hollow, he could already hear the laughter filtering through the open window. Her laughter.

A light was on in the upper window, and he could see figures moving, eager to be ready for the next day. Only one remained still, occasionally turning and twisting round to admire herself in a small mirror, but she was as calm and serene as he had always known her to be. Such a beautiful bride she'd make; he'd known ever since that day in the playground but had never imagined she'd be marrying anyone but him.

His breath catching in his throat, Severus dragged himself the last few steps to the front door, trying to be as quiet as possible. He didn't want to disturb and upset her any more than he already had. Taking one last look at the envelope in his hand, he suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to kiss it; this was the last contact he'd have with her. The love of his life. Such a momentous farewell deserved more than a crumpled envelope, surely?

Time froze as he stood at the door, until he snapped out of his reverie, stuffed the envelope through the letterbox and turned on his heel, forcing himself not to run.

Lily looked away from the mirror and crossed to the window, sure she had heard hurrying footsteps and an anguished sob from outside.

* * *

Lily collapsed to the floor, holding back tears but unable to speak. She had searched in vain for a letter or even a scrawled note, but only something blue had fallen into her hand as she tipped the envelope.

Bridesmaids and guests clamoured around her, but she was still as she stared at the enchanted sapphire hair grip, a daisy opening and closing its tiny petals as Severus had shown her all those years ago.


	2. Chapter 2

**This takes place BEFORE chapter one. I hadn't planned on writing another chapter, but people seemed to like it so…yeah. Rated K+ to be on the safe side, there's only one _really_ mild sexual reference. It's gone a bit AU as well, but I think it works pretty well. Thanks for reviewing etc., I really do appreciate it :)**

Severus awoke, as he had every other night since he'd seen the announcement in the Daily Prophet, bathed in a cold sweat. He took out the clipping that he'd cut out and saved so carefully, even though the words were committed to memory as soon as he'd seen them. Almost without thinking, he stroked Lily's name on the page, trying to preserve its beauty before it was tainted with his name.

_Potter._

He spat the word despite being alone in the room, tears falling down his cheeks as his voice fell to silence. If only he could transform the venom in his voice to a real poison-he pictured it coursing through Potter's veins, leaving Lily alone to be rescued…Severus slumped to the wall, consumed with self-loathing. How could he wish for such awful pain to be bestowed on his dear Lily?

He took a small chipped bowl from the sideboard, and raised his wand to his temple. Sighing, he watched the most painful memories swirl into the Pensieve, tumbling together like liquid. All those times she'd asked him to Zonko's and he'd refused, preferring to study his Potions textbook. Or that time she'd asked him to the Slug Club Christmas party, but he'd felt too embarrassed and left early. Or, he blushed fiercely, those times he'd thought of her whilst he was alone in bed at night, curtains drawn and biting his lip to keep himself quiet.

He could never eradicate every memory of her, but he managed to fall into an uneasy sleep, cradling the Pensieve in his arms.

* * *

He could mutter only polite greetings the next morning, nodding to his acquaintances as he strode down Diagon Alley. He needed nothing, but thought that he would go mad if he stayed in the same four walls any longer.

Everything he saw reminded him of her. Passing Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, he thought about how she had quickly learnt his order off by heart-a skill which had escaped Fortescue even after years of frequenting the shop. Seeing schoolgirls coming out of Madam Malkin's reminded him of her delight at her own first set of school robes. He caught himself smiling, thinking back to her eagerness and curiosity about everything in the wizarding world. Right down to the last brick in Diagon Alley it had seemed, everything had fascinated her. He stopped by the apothecary to stock up on ingredients-he needed to keep a good relationship with the shopkeeper even if he didn't need the bezoars and lavender he handed over a few sickles for. Not wanting to head home quite yet, he wandered down the street, stopping every so often to peer into the bright windows.

As he reached the entrance to Knockturn Alley, he felt drawn to the follow the dingy pathway to the more dangerous shops. He disliked the atmosphere there despite his interest in the Dark Arts, and hesitated for a moment before stepping under the archway. He knew how far he was becoming involved with Dark magic and the thought worried him for a moment, but he pushed it to the back of his mind.

Almost straightaway he saw a sparkle from the window of Borgin & Burkes. A gorgeous blue, twinkling even in the dusty shop, a blue which he couldn't resist. He gasped as he realised what it was-a tiny daisy on a gold hairpin, opening and closing its petals, and immediately he was back in the playground on the day he'd told Lily about her powers. He could see her smiling face, astounded. Tears sprang to his eyes and he almost laughed, seized with the thought of presenting her with another such gift.

He rushed into the shop, pressing the bell on the counter impatiently, silently damning old Borgin in his head for being so slow. He _needed _that pin, and he quashed the tiny voice in his head that was telling him it was almost definitely cursed.

'Oh, Snape, good morning!' croaked Borgin, shuffling the last few steps to the counter. Severus was already at the window, pointing to the pin.

'How much?' he demanded, picking it up on the cushion and taking it to the old man so no more time would be wasted.

'What do you want with this? Very dangerous item, I can assure you…..it is said that whoever wears it will be cursed to die within twenty four hours!'

'How much?' Severus repeated, eager. 'I'm sure I can fix the curse, I'm practised in the Dark Arts, as well you know.'

'Very well, Snape. Four galleons please' he said, smirking and holding his hand out. 'Just watch you don't touch it, or you'll be sorry!'

* * *

Severus sat at his desk, a stack of books in front of him, and worked through the night to find some antidote he could prepare, or a spell he could perform to protect her and still give her such a treasure.

He didn't know what time it was when he finally found the solution. He sat back in his chair, knowing that he would do it. The words swam across the page and he closed his eyes, trying to block out thoughts of Lily so that he could think rationally. He couldn't do it, and her face kept appearing in front of him, and he smiled as he felt her stroke his cheek.

'_Cursed jewellery maintains the curse relative to its size…a necklace will be able to perform its magic on several victims…..smaller items will only kill once. The item can be worn, or may even be effective if turned in the hands three times…'_

He knew what he had to do. He spent the next few hours surrounding himself with photographs of Lily; her smiling face watching over him from every angle.

'This is for you.'

He took the pin in his hand and could swear he felt an electric shock from it, but otherwise he felt no effect. He turned it slowly three times between his fingers, his eyes filling with tears as he he said again,

'This is for you, Lily…._Potter_.'

He quickly stuffed the pin into an envelope, and apparated to the Church in Godric's Hollow.

He only had twenty four hours left.


	3. Chapter 3

Severus had planned to apparate home, hide himself under the covers and wait. Instead, absent-mindedly, he walked back to the Church in Godric's Hollow, looking up at the stars and regretting not writing a note to Lily with the hairpin.

Would she know what it meant? The significance of that one afternoon in the playground? He knew it was important to her, but for different reasons; that day she had found the answers that her Muggle family could not provide for her.

'This is for the best' he said aloud as he reached the graveyard. There was nobody around, but he felt better just admitting it. Maybe he was not better than Potter for Lily, no matter how jealous he was, she had not chosen him.

He suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his side, enough to make him cry out and stumble to the cold, hard, ground.

Lying flat on his back, he suddenly understood the true nature of the curse. He remembered back when he was at Hogwarts, studying the properties of Amortentia late at night in the Restricted Section, how he had come across a strange enchantment known as The Lover's Demise. Interested in anything to do with the potion, he discovered that a similar, far stronger magic could be used on objects. As he looked up at the sky on that dark night, he realised that the hairpin was a classic example of such an object-just as Amortentia adapted its scent to attract individuals, so did the pin change its appearance.

Severus felt relieved, that the pin knew the most important event in his life was that sunny afternoon, spent astounding Lily with his knowledge of the Wizarding World. He now knew for certain that his love was what had defined his life, and feeling a few flakes of snow fall to his face, he smiled and remembered how radiant Lily had looked in her wedding dress that evening. With that thought, closed his eyes and breathed his last.

**Sorry for such a short chapter, I'm planning to write the next in a few days' time. Thanks for reading! xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**I didn't really mean for this to turn AU when I wrote the first chapter, but I've sort of just run with it and now it's gone so AU it's hard to believe it started with the Marauders. Basically I sat and thought about it-if Severus died the night before Lily and James' wedding, surely Voldemort would not have found out about the prophecy?**

**And yes, I know that without Harry defeating Voldemort as a baby, Voldemort could still be around. But for the purposes of this, it's vague how/why but Voldemort is not a threat in the Wizarding World and it's all pretty peaceful. We cool? :)**

James wandered sleepily into the kitchen, kissing his wife on the cheek and inhaling the delicious smell of the bacon she was cooking.

'Nice and crispy for me, yeah?'

She turned to look over her shoulder at him, rolling her eyes.

'We've been married for twenty years, I know how you like your bacon. Harry up yet?'

'Probably, Ginny's coming over so he'll have to fight his hair flat in the bathroom for…..oh, three hours?' He grinned, and added 'just as I used to have to do for you, sweetheart.'

She smiled back at him, running her fingers through his hair affectionately.

As she turned back to the stove, she tucked her own hair behind her ear, fixing it in place with the sapphire hair pin.

'I still think you should get that thing valued, Lils' James said, his voice muffled as he spoke with his mouth full. 'Not to sell it, just so you'd know. Blimey, _I _want to know, even if you don't. Where did you get it, anyway? A gift from your parents?'

She sat opposite her husband and opened her mouth to speak, a sad look in her eyes, but her mouth dropped open further as she saw Harry strutting in from the hallway; for a moment she saw James as he had been in their 7th year at Hogwarts .

'What on _Earth_ have you done?' she gasped, trying not to laugh at Harry's simultaneously slick with gel but somehow messier than usual hair.

Harry tried to comb it flat with his hand defensively, sitting beside James and helping himself to toast.

'I tried a charm Ron gave me' he replied, then under his breath 'his hair's bad enough, I don't know why I'd trust his judgement….'

The doorbell rang and Harry jumped up, blushing slightly. 'Seeyoulatergottogobye' he said, rushing to the door.

'Who's that then? Neville, is it?' James called after him, laughing.

'Shut up, Dad!'

* * *

Lily fidgeted in her seat, wondering if she should tell her husband about that night before their wedding day. It had been twenty years, but still she had never heard from Severus, and she had given up asking in the apothecary in Diagon Alley. Once, just after she and James had returned from their honeymoon, she had even summoned enough courage to ask if anyone had seen him in Borgin and Burkes, but old Borgin just shook his head, laughing. She still told herself, twenty years later, that Severus was alive, with his own family, perhaps abroad somewhere. Anything else didn't bear thinking about.

'James….' She started, seeing the worried look in his eyes.

'What's the matter?' he asked, watching her readjust the hairpin. He knew she'd got it as a wedding present, and she always fiddled with it when she was nervous or anxious.

'This pin….it was a gift from Sev before our wedding.' She spoke quietly, looking down at the table, not knowing how James would react. She tilted her head up to see James, who looked shocked, but not angry.

'Oh.' He said. He had known the story of when Snape had told Lily about her powers when they were children, and he had always thought the daisy pin opening and closing its petals was a remarkable coincidence. Not any more, he supposed; of course Snape would give her such a sentimental gift.

'But we haven't seen him in over twenty years…..have you?'

'No, I haven't even heard from him, I've asked around every so often but nobody has seen him. He didn't even give me this in person, it was pushed through the letterbox.'

The two sat in silence, Lily suddenly terrified for what had become of Severus, and James concerned that Snape had done something stupid that night before the wedding. After all, that looked like an very rare pin.

* * *

'Where would you like to go, sweetheart?' Harry asked Ginny, linking fingers with her as he stepped outside the door.

'Just for a walk? The weather's not nice enough for practise, even though I brought my broom' she held it up gloomily, but carried on 'and I don't really want to go to Diagon Alley again, Mum just took me the other day to look at new hands for that old clock of ours. Too many Weasleys have too many children, that's our problem' she laughed.

'Sounds fine by me' Harry said, starting off towards the gate. 'Leave your broom by the wall, it'll be safe there.'

Years before, James had put an enchantment around the garden wall so the family could keep magical things outside without the Muggles getting suspicious. Harry watched Ginny carefully lay her broom amongst old cauldrons and his toy broomstick from years ago caught his eye; he thought of a photograph his Mum had on her bedside table of him flying round the garden, only a few inches off the ground.

They set off through the village towards the church, walking slowly, holding hands again.

'Shall we walk through the graveyard, for a change?' Ginny asked him, pulling him in that direction without waiting for an answer.

'Bit morbid, no?'

'Oh be quiet, it's nice here' she said jokingly, sitting down on a bench near the entrance.

Harry joined her, then something caught his eye. There, in the middle of the path, a lily was blooming through the cracks in the paving slabs. He stared at it, gasping as it started to glow gold.

'What's the matter, Harry?' she asked, looking where he was pointing, seeing nothing but thin air.

Even though Ginny couldn't see the flower, Harry was worried that Muggles might be able to and so tried to pick it; planning on taking it home and planting it in the garden. He was shocked to find that it was as strong as iron and wouldn't break away from the path, so he carefully hid it with snow, his hands turning numb.

'Wait here for me a minute?' he called to Ginny, already running home.

'Of course!' she called back, wondering why the pile of snow Harry had just made was melting a lot faster than the snow on the gravestones.

* * *

'Dad!' Harry shouted as soon as he reached the front path, not even waiting before he put his key in the door.

'What's the matter?' James asked. 'Where's Ginny?'

'She's fine, she's waiting at the graveyard. There's a magical Lily growing there, I can't pick it, but it's glowing and allsorts. The Muggles will see, and I _really _don't want to have to move house!'

'Don't be dramatic Harry.' said Lily, appearing at the doorway. 'I'm sure we can move it with magic, even if your, uh, brute strength hasn't worked' She smiled reassuringly, and set off towards Ginny.

As she got closer and closer to the lily, the petals of the hairpin began to move faster.

**Next chapter will be the last, everyone! Sorry this isn't so Snily orientated as the other chapters, but even though I'm a Snily shipper through and through I figured James wouldn't be a horrible husband/father, and I wanted the Potter's lives to be happy. Next chapter in a few days xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it's taken so long to update, I had to move home from university, it's just been a nightmare for a couple of weeks. Thanks for all of your reviews, hope you enjoy the last chapter! xx**

Ginny could see Lily walking towards the graveyard, and she reached down to touch the mound of snow that Harry had piled around whatever it was he had seen on the path. She knew something was under it, but couldn't work out why it was invisible to her; that was complex magic.

'What is it?' Lily called, closing the gate behind her. Before Ginny could answer, Lily gasped and stood stunned, looking over at the flower growing from the path. The snow around it had completely melted, and she couldn't resist walking towards it. She could hear Harry and James arriving in the graveyard, but the pull of the flower was impossible to resist.

'Lily? Is everything alright?' James hurried after her, reaching out to hold her wrist. She smiled at him and gently took her hand away, moving even closer to the flower. James looked in the direction she was heading; he could see nothing but a melted patch of snow on the path.

Harry watched his parents, then turned to Ginny.

'Can you not see the flower?' he asked, his eyes wide.

'There's obviously something linking your Mum and you to it, I can't see it and I'm not sure your Dad can either.' She replied, taking his hand.

'Stay back from whatever it is Lily, it's dangerous!' James took Lily's wrist again, firmer so she couldn't break free as easily this time. To the surprise of both of them, the hairpin untucked itself from her hair and continued slowly towards the flower, at the same pace she had been walking.

'My pin!' she cried, but James held her back.

Harry and Ginny joined them, watching the pin levitate closer and closer. Time seemed to stand still and they all held their breath in anticipation, but the pin stopped precisely above the flower and for a while, nothing happened.

'James….' But Lily didn't need to finish her sentence; he knew what she meant, and let go of her hand.

Just one step forward and there was a deafening rumble. The ground shook as they dived for cover, and light flashed bright white around them. Lily peeked through her fingers, and where the lily had been, stood Snape.

'Sev!' she ran towards him, leaving the others behind. They hugged tightly and she couldn't help but weep into his shoulder, but she looked up at his face when he started to laugh.

'I should have known, Potter looks as stupid as the day I last day I saw him.' He looked over at the little huddle of people further down the path. 'Both yours?' he said, focussing on Harry and Ginny.

'No, I think she'll be my daughter-in-law sometime soon though.' Lily stumbled over her words, annoyed that Sev had left her for twenty years and then only wanted to ask questions about her family. 'Where have you been?' she came to her senses, hitting him in the shoulder.

'I couldn't live without you, dearest. I always loved you. I had to give you that pin, but it was cursed, so I suffered the effects of the spell so that you could have my blessing.'

She looked up at him, speechless. 'But….'

'You don't have to say anything, Lily.' He smiled, holding her cheek. 'Tell your son about me, hmm?'

She gripped his arms as he started to fade, but he continued smiling. He bent to pick up the pin, turning it in his fingers before handing it back to her.

'Sev…?'

But he was gone. Lily fell to the floor as she had done the night before her wedding, and wept. Her family rushed around her, confused and full of questions, but still she knew, despite her feelings for James, she'd always regret not telling Sev how she felt.

Always.

* * *

'Daddy?' a quiet voice asked, and Severus felt a hand on his cheek. He did not know where he was and so instead decided to keep his eyes firmly closed and remember seeing Lily's face in the graveyard as she realised what he had done. He allowed himself a small smile, but before long the voice spoke again.

'Daddy, wake up!' The hand became more insistent, poking and prodding at his face. He opened his eyes a little, and saw a boy almost identical to himself as a child, albeit with better fitting clothes.

'Good, you're awake. Did you forget you're teaching me lemonade potion today? You promised!' The boy demanded, and Severus sat up slowly, confused. He raised a hand to his forehead, feeling for fever.

'What…?'

'Mummy already went out and got the stuff, so we HAVE to make it!' the boy continued, but Severus was distracted. Amazed, he dropped his hand to his side and walked over to Lily, who was carrying a basket of laundry into the room as if she didn't have a care in the world.

'Still asleep, eh? I told you not to stay up too late working on that latest book of yours, but do you ever listen? Of course not, I'm just your wife.' She said jokingly, starting to fold away shirts.

'Lily?' Severus gasped, putting his hand on her arm to stop her. Check she was real.

'Mmm?' she turned to him, and furrowed her eyebrows at his bewildered expression. 'You don't mind teaching him how to make lemonade, do you?' she said quieter, so the boy could not hear. 'He's been watching you experiment with new recipes to go in your book, and he insisted that you teach him, but we can't have him around dangerous ingredients just yet. He's not even four yet and he wants to make potions, can you believe it?'

Severus walked over to the boy, why by now had lost interest in his parents and was instead turning round on the spot, saying 'I'm apparating, I'm apparating!' over and over again to himself. He reached to catch his son's arm and stop him turning. The boy looked up at his face, squealing in delight as he was suddenly picked up off of his feet and into the air, Severus carrying him over to Lily and hugging them both as tightly as he could.

Severus was home.

**_The End_**

**__Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, whatever. This is my first story on ff and I've loved writing it, so without getting too cheesy and sentimental, it wouldn't have been the same without you guys :)**


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